VMware Partner News

VMware is now making it easier for partners to register more new account opportunities through the advantage+ program. Effective August 1st 2007, the VMware Infrastructure Acceleration Kit will qualify towards the $20K minimum entry point for the program and will also be eligible for rebate on newaccount+, oppreg+ and solutiontrack+ incentives. This will enable more partner opportunities to qualify and be eligible for rebate under the program.

Partners can leverage the VMware Infrastructure Acceleration Kit as a sales tool to help position and close new customer opportunities. The VMware Infrastructure Acceleration Kit comes with VMware Infrastructure 3 Enterprise for 8 Processors, 1 VirtualCenter Management Server, 1 Converter 3.0 Enterprise Edition, and Gold or Platinum Support and Subscription.

More information on the VMware Infrastructure Acceleration Kit can be found in the VMware price list. For more information on the advantage+ program, please visit Partner Central or send us an email with your questions.

VMware's Corporate Webinar Series includes 3 upcoming discussions focused on Small and Medium Business. Invite your SMB customers to attend these informative presentations that will address issues and challenges that are relevant to their business. Your employees may find these valuable as well.

For more information and to enroll in these webinars, please visit the links below:

• Topic: Virtualization Delivers IT and Business Benefits for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
• Date: July 31, 2007
• Time: 9:00am PST/12:00pm EST

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• Topic: The Impact of iSCSI Storage and Virtualization for Small and Medium Sized Companies
• Date: August 7, 2007
• Time: 10:00am PST/1:00pm EST

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• Topic: Foam Design Saves Man Hours and Budget Dollars in IT Operations with VMware Infrastructure 3
• Date: August 14, 2007
• Time: 9:00am PST/12:00pm EST

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We are excited to announce that the program for VMware Infrastructure 3.1 beta has begun. VMware Infrastructure 3.1, comprising of Virtual Center 2.1 and ESX Server 3.1, introduces dramatic simplification and automation of datacenter management with introduction of several advanced new features.

There are still a few openings available in the beta program. If you wish to participate, please let us know the areas you intend to test and your test set-up by completing the form. A beta program manager will contact you with the beta agreement which you must sign in order to participate. Filling the form is not a guarantee of participation in the program. There is a possibility that openings will fill up before your request gets processed. We apologize in advance if this occurs. Please contact us if you have any questions.

VMLive is VMware's interactive webinar series designed specifically for our partner community. There are two versions of VMLIve – Tech Edition and Sales Edition. Tech Edition is intended for the System Engineer and Technical Consultant audience; the Sales Edition is intended for sales, marketing and business audience. VMLive is available exclusively to VMware partners. Take a look at the schedule for July and make sure you stay informed about VMware virtualization.

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Do you know how to demonstrate and sell VMware Lab Manager to a technical audience? Do you have a good understanding of the Lab Manager features and concepts? Do you know how to answer the most common questions? In this VMLive event, we'll teach you how do give impressive Lab Manager demos and explain the key concepts and show you tips and tricks of effective Lab Manager administrators.

• Topic: VMLive Tech Edition - A Sales Engineer's Guide to VMware Lab Manager
• Date: July 18, 2007
• Time: 8:30am PST/11:30 am EST

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Have you been asked by your customers about VMware Lab Manager yet? Do you know how to qualify a prospect and position the product? Who is the purchaser in a typical account and what value points are most resonant? What are typical objections and what expertise is required to sell Lab Manager? Attend this VMLive event and learn how Lab Manager can make a huge difference in your ability to drive larger deals with your customers.

• Topic: VMLive Sales Edition - Jumpstart your VMware Lab Manager Sales
• Date: July 19, 2007
• Time: 8:30am PST/11:30 am EST

Register now

Join us for an update about VMware’s Enterprise Desktop solution. VDI is our server-hosted desktop solution that leverages the award winning VMware Virtual Infrastructure. VMware ACE 2 Enterprise Edition is the only controlled and easily managed desktop virtualization solution for enterprise users. In this session of VMLive learn how to identify prospects, evaluate their use case for both products, and price the right ACE 2 or VDI solution for customers.

• Topic: VMLive Sales Edition - VMware Enterprise Desktop Solutions - Learn the Recipe for Success
• Date: July 24, 2007
• Time: 8:30am PST/11:30 am EST

Register now

Learn the basic VDI add ACE solution components, new features in current and upcoming releases, key use case architectures, and see a live product demo.

• Topic: VMLive Tech Edition - VMware Enterprise Desktop Solutions - Learn the Recipe for Success
• Date: July 25, 2007
• Time: 8:30am PST/11:30 am EST

Register now

Additonal topics coming at the end of July and in August will include:

• A sales and technical competitive update.
• A deep dive into the VMware TCO calculator.
• An overview of Fusion.

Information about VMware products and solutions has never been easier to locate in Partner Central. Whitepapers, customer presentations, cheat sheets, blue prints, marketing campaign assets and much more can now be accessed from each of the product and solutions pages in Partner Central. This means less time searching through folders for the tools you need to train, sell and create marketing campaigns.

Working closely with the VMware Product and Corporate Marketing teams we have created several new HTML based product and solution pages. Log into Partner Central today to access the latest VMware materials.

VMware Consulting and Training Credits are pre-paid services dollars which can be redeemed for any combination of VMware packaged consulting, custom consulting and education services. Available globally, Credits provide customers with the flexibility to allocate budget and then use the services when needed.

• Increase Deal Size: Credits create a mechanism for partners to receive compensation for selling custom consulting work.
• Package Turn-Key Solutions: VMware partners may use Credits to build packaged bundles which include VMware services.
• Accelerate Deals: There is no wait for formal Statement of Work (SoW) sign off to sell VMware custom services.

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Hundreds of IT organizations have virtualized their test labs with VMware Lab Manager. With VMware Lab Manager 2.5, we’ve launched a new ROI (Return on Investment) calculator as well. This easy-to-use online calculator shows in a graphical format the savings customers can realize through system consolidation, improved provisioning and operational efficiencies achieved by VMware Lab Manager.

VMware Lab Manager 2.5 offers improved platform support for new guest operating systems as well as iSCSI and NFS storage devices. Moreover, Lab Manager now fully integrates with leading test management solutions including Borland SilkCentral Test Manager and HP Quality Center. Existing VMware Lab Manager customers can download and upgrade to the new release free of charge.

Check out the new ROI calculator and leverage it to help your customers make VMware Lab Manager purchase decisions more quickly.

The countdown for VMworld has begun.  This year’s event takes place from September 11 to 13 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.  The Early Bird Registration deadline is fast approaching - register before July 31 and save $250.  You don’t want to miss the virtualization industry event of the year.

VMware Partner Day Tracks Announced
With a day that promises to be filled with the most in-depth selection of sessions by VMware experts, Partner Day will have 3 tracks that include Sales and Technical topics. Go to the Partner Day site for more information.

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